Old Friend, New Place

Over the last weekend in August I got to do something I've been wanting to do for nearly a year: spend the day with my best friend.

We met in Andong, about midway between Busan and Seoul, where she'd flown in.  We set a time to meet at the local city bus terminal, where I waited on the bench outside the arrivals area like a kid on Christmas Eve.  It was sooo good to see her face when she stepped off the bus. 

 

  We wandered around the city together, well known for its mask dances and Hahoe, a traditional folk village.  Andong is also known for being larger in area than Seoul, and extremely spread out in terms of sights.  Trying to find the tourist information center proved to be much more difficult than it should have been.  I realized that this was the first time I've taken a trip in Korea without Ryan, and that while I am the planner, he is definitely the navigator. 

We made it to the folk village though (eventually), and it was as naturally beautiful as I'd imagined.
 
 

 
 

It was such a treat walking through a new place with Erin, born in Korea and back for the first time since she was a baby.    
 
 
 

 Yes that might be a you-know-what wearing a skirt in the photo on the left....  
When Erin pointed that out to me I couldn't stop laughing.  So maybe I'm still in middle school.
 
 
  

We made a mad dash to see the weekly Saturday mask performance we'd forgotten about, which proved worth the power walk despite the humidity.  It probably would have been even more interesting if we could understand the language, but not as interesting as it was for the poor group of foreigners who were pulled into the performing area and made to dance around.

 

  After exploring more of the village we took a bus back into town and witnessed a girl fight on the packed vehicle, complete with hair pulling and slapping.  Just for you, Erin.

That evening we took the bus back to Busan and spent Sunday here in town lounging on the beach.

Oh, this beach.  I'm going to miss spending sunny summer weekends here.

More updates on the time spent with my bestie to come.     
 

Safe travels home today Erin!  Miss you already.